§ Mr. Andrew TurnerTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills in respect of each local education authority and for England, how many pupils did not obtain admission to the secondary school of their first choice in the most recent year for which information is available, in(a) absolute terms and (b) as a proportion of the total number of pupils transferring to secondary schools. [29659]
§ Mr. TimmsThis information is not held centrally. However, research undertaken by the Office for National Statistics, on behalf of the Department for Education and Skills, looked at parents' experiences of the process of choosing a secondary school. Findings from this nationally representative survey of parents of children starting secondary school in September 1999 and September 2000 found that 92 per cent, of parents received an offer of a place in the school listed as their first preference.